Beyond the Legend
by ChaosJedi
Summary: This series follows several months after the end of the Legend series. Mini-chapter added. Thoughts of some of the OTHER characters.
1. Transitions: A New Beginning

Transitions  
by Ryan Carroll  
  
It was six months since the "renewal" incident, and I was getting restless. I knew that destroying the Dimensionalizer was the safest thing to do, but I still wondered if cutting myself off from Mobius had been the best thing. I missed the shockwaves Sonic left in his wake, the low chuckle Slasher emitted when things were going well, the warm smile I got from Knux when we discovered something new about the Chaos Emeralds.  
  
My lightsaber, now useless without the energy of the Element Stones to power it, sat on my shelf as a reminder of who I had been. I had been the ChaosJedi. Now I was a college student struggling to ace my classes, wondering why no one offered a course on interdimensional quantum physics.  
  
Chris seemed to be taking the switch back to normal life much more easily. The fact that she hadn't been involved in the whole thing as long as I had helped her in that respect. She and Pixel were practically inseparable during the semester, and now that summer was here, they were literally inseparable.  
  
I'd like to say Indy and I were the same way, but the fact is that we weren't. I had to focus on my classes, and Indy spent most of his spare time polishing his DDR skills. Seeing Indy, however, only brought back more memories of Mobius, which threatened to drive me insane.  
  
It got to the point where I couldn't stand it. I had to go back to Mobius, even if it meant Robotnik getting his hands on the portal technology, AGAIN.  
  
Indy loved the idea and helped me gather the materials for the frame. We raided the local Wal-Mart for free AOL discs (what we didn't use for the frame we set aside for drink coasters) and snagged some leftover PVC pipes from a nearby construction site.  
  
In the middle of rebuilding, Christine got wind of the project and practically beat my door down to try to talk me out of it. When she saw that reason wasn't going to help in this situation, she reluctantly began to help with the final stages of hooking up the frame.  
  
I knew that since it had been a while, I needed to test out the dimensional tunnel for integrity and stability. Chris vehemently argued the point; not that it needed to be tested, but that I should be the one to do the testing.  
  
"Are you crazy? What if something does go wrong?"  
  
"That's why you monitor the tunnel while I'm in there. If something happens, you or Indy can come in after me."  
  
"I'd rather it was me going after you, Ryan," Indy cut in. "I have no idea how to monitor something like this. Chris or Pixel can do it better than I can."  
  
"It's settled then. I'm going in."  
  
"Not yet, you're not. Get back here." With that, Chris whirled me around and planted her lips on mine. My face was still red when I entered the portal.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
Something wasn't quite right with the tunnel; I could tell that as soon as I started down the corridor. I couldn't quite put my finger on it... at least not until I heard a disembodied voice all around me.  
  
"You are one who defends the innocent." A statement, not a question. I felt a little silly talking to no one or nothing in particular, but the sense of the voice inspired awe in me. "Yes, yes I am."  
  
"You have returned to this place because of your feelings of lost friendship."  
  
"That's exactly it. Who are you?"  
  
"I am a representative of the One Who reigns on high, Who watches over His own. I give you comfort and warning: you will be changed, but all things work for good for those who love Him."  
  
I wanted to reply, but I was out the other side of the tunnel before I had a chance. Since I wasn't watching where I was going, I was flung out the other end of the corridor into something. I was unconscious before I hit the ground.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Ouch."  
  
"It's a bit late for that, wouldn't you say?"  
  
"I've still got a headache, Slasher; cut me some slack, would ya?" I sighed. "...By the way, sorry about crashing into you like that."  
  
"Been a while, hasn't it? You out of practice?"  
  
"Not out of practice, just out of sorts. I kinda got distracted back there in the dimensional tunnel."  
  
"Distracted? You? You BUILT the portal generators! You know better than I do what the dimensional tunnel looks like. What was there to distract you?"  
  
"Don't sound so amused, Slash. There was something different about the portal this time. And there was a voice."  
  
I was watching the raptor's face, and when I mentioned that, I saw her become the textbook example of seriousness. "A voice?"  
  
"Yeah, kinda. It was almost as if it wasn't my head that was hearing it, though; more like it was speaking directly to my heart."  
  
"You don't say."  
  
"You okay, Slash? You're acting like you know what I'm talking about."  
  
"I do. So does Sonic."  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
The stories that Slasher and Sonic related to me freaked me out. They were similar, but not identical, to my experience in that shadow dimension of Japan a while back. The only obvious difference was that I had no one to interact with.  
  
What really freaked me out was when they started talking about the torris. Comparing their experiences to mine, I put two and two together.  
  
"Guys, we've been dealing with agents of God."  
  
We all felt pretty freaked out after I made that conclusion, so I pulled out a few sodas (when the Freedom Fighters had returned to Mobius after hiding out at my house for several weeks, they had taken about a year's supply of Dr. Pepper with them). I popped open a can, took a swig, swallowed...  
  
And promptly choked as I noticed something I hadn't up to that point. My entire left hand was metal.  
  
When I came to about a minute later, I couldn't stop staring at my hand. I wondered if maybe Robotnik had gotten me into a roboticizing chamber, but I readily dismissed that as being something I would remember. Everyone else who had gone through such an ordeal had been unable to forget the event for months. I examined my hand further. My tactile sense in that hand hadn't dulled, but when I touched it with my other hand, it felt like cold steel. It had the contours of a normal hand, right down to my fingerprints, and it flexed like a normal hand. It even weighed the same as it had before, but, still, it was metal.  
  
Reactions ranged from "cool" to "weird" to horrified expressions. Those last came from Spark and Zephyer. It made sense to me, since they'd been through the robotization process. I quickly took to wearing a glove on my left hand, since even I freaked every time I saw my hand.  
  
I really didn't want to see Christine's face when she saw my hand, but I didn't really see how I could avoid it. Especially since she zeroed in on the glove the moment I came back through the portal.  
  
"What's with the glove? You burn yourself or something?"  
  
"No, but I don't think I'll have to worry about that ever again with this hand."  
  
"What?"  
  
I took off the glove and showed her the metal hand.  
  
When her eyes flitted open, I helped her up off the floor, making sure to offer my right hand in doing so. "What... the heck... did you do... to your hand?" Chris inquired.  
  
"I didn't do a blasted thing to it. I went through the dimensional tunnel and boom, my hand looks like a silver paperweight."  
  
"Hey, coooool," Indy cut in. The glares he got from both of us shut him up. Pixel ran a miniature scanner over my hand and crossed over to the computer desk, plugging the scanner into a piece of equipment sitting next to the printer.  
  
"Well, according to the scanner, your hand is 100% pure quadranium. The junction between your hand and wrist looks like somes sort of cross-section for biology class, but the neural network in your hand is normal, and the metal binds to the bones in your wrist just like normal human anatomy."  
  
I looked at Christine. "I thought your major was Computer Engineering."  
  
"It is," she replied. "Pix managed to get accepted to the college, and she's taking all kinds of science classes; physics, chemistry, biology, you name it."  
  
I shot a glance at Indy, who had kicked back on my bed reading a comic book. "What?" he replied, looking all innocent.  
  
------------------------------------------------------*  
  
The general was NOT happy.  
  
Colonel Ferris, the general's secretary, could always tell when things weren't going well. All she had to do was listen for a long string of expletives delivered at high volume to determine when she would be called into the general's office. And judging by the length of this particular blue streak, it would be about five minutes.  
  
The pseudo-military organization known as G.U.N. ran fairly smoothly... most of the time. Then there were times where something gummed up the works.  
  
Colonel Ferris could tell that this was one of those times.  
  
"Colonel Ferris!" the voice on the other end of the intercom roared. "My office, now!"  
  
"Yes, general," she replied with a longsuffering sigh.  
  
------------------------------------------------------*  
  
Rob looked about ready to collapse. I imagined I looked no better. Christine handed us bottles of cool ice water. I downed mine in under a minute.  
  
"Maybe this will teach you not to try Paranoia on Expert Mode again," she admonished us.  
  
"It... was... an accident..." I panted.  
  
"Uh-huh. You just wanted to show off. Well, let's see... you both nearly had heart attacks, not to mention you failed the stage miserably."  
  
Rob and I simultaneously reached for more water. "You should've seen me when I tried this on Standard," he told Chris. "I felt almost as bad."  
  
"On Standard? You are out of shape, Rob."  
  
"Hey, what about me?" I griped. "I can't even do the simplest double stage. I collapse every time I try."  
  
"Ah, you guys are wimps. Care for something to eat?"  
  
"Eat? I doubt my stomach could handle food right now," I replied.  
  
"Fine. I'll eat and you watch. Come on."  
  
We sat down to burgers (for Chris) and fries (for Rob and me). I drained my water bottle again and went for another one. "Hey, Chris, have you been feeling strange lately?"  
  
"Strange in what sense?"  
  
"Strange as in... I don't know... like energy is flowing through you, and all you have to do is release it?"  
  
"If you're going to tell me you've been feeling that way, yeah, that is strange. I haven't felt anything like what you're talking about."  
  
"I just thought, you know, since we were both dimension jumpers... Whoa."  
  
"What? Something wrong?"  
  
"No, I just felt weird for a second. I mean it's not like I can use the Element Stones again and lift your chair off the floor--"  
  
"Ryan?" Chris cut in.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Put me down."  
  
I did a double take. As I had mentioned lifting her chair off the floor, I had involuntarily gestured the way I would have if I had actually meant to levitate something.  
  
I had just levitated Chris, chair and all, a foot off the ground.  
  
In my surprise I nearly let her fall to the floor, but I caught her before she hit and slowly lowered her to solid ground. The three of us sat in amazement at what had just occurred.  
  
On impulse I tried my other elemental abilities. Every one of them worked to full potential.  
  
"Look out world," Rob commented. "ChaosJedi is back in the house!"  
  
--------------------------------------------------------*  
  
"I don't care how long it takes, colonel. I want to see some action on the transdimensional link project. The cloning project can wait for now. If it is possible to visit other worlds... Imagine the possibilities that would present!"  
  
"So the Dimensionalizer project should be top priority?"  
  
"Yes, of course..." The general stared at his secretary for a second. "Where on earth did you get a name like that?"  
  
"One of my students out at the college, sir. One of his papers dealt with the topic of how transdimensional travel might be possible."  
  
"Hmmm. Interesting. All right, use that as a foundation and work on it from there. Dismissed, colonel."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------*  
  
"Don't you think it's just the slightest bit weird, Knux? I mean, for the better half of a year I'm back to being just a normal college student, then almost as soon as I get the Dimensionalizer up and running, the power comes back to the Element Stones? Not to mention this," I added, indicating my left hand.  
  
"It is strange. Maybe after the renewal it just took some time for the stones to recharge. You had any exposure to the raw elements in the past six months?"  
  
I scratched my head for a moment. "Come to think of it, I did get caught out in that really windy thunderstorm. Nearly got hit by lightning, too. That could account for three right there."  
  
"Not to mention that gravity is pulling on you all the time. What about the other three?"  
  
"What are we getting at here? You're saying the energy of the stones might have been collected by induction? Like the leaves on an electroscope when you get a static charge near the thing?"  
  
"It's very possible. I would guess that fire and light could easily be from the Arizona weather."  
  
"I'll give you that. So what's left, rock? I did climb 'A' Mountain that one time. I guess that would account for everything, but what triggered my being able to use them again? Could it have something to do with using the Dimensionalizer after all this time?"  
  
"To be honest, I have no idea. My expertise is the Chaos and Super Emeralds. For me the Element Stones are sort of a learn-as-you-go thing."  
  
"As is this whole ChaosJedi thing. Hey, what the--?"  
  
That last comment of mine was prompted by the alert that had suddenly come up on my computer screen. I pulled my chair around to the keyboard and started up the tracer program. "...the heck?" I wondered when I saw the origin of the dimensional rift.  
  
It was on the Arizona State campus.  
  
"Who would have access to the equipment needed to build a dimensional gate, much less the procedure... Blast it! I'm such an idiot!"  
  
"What? What's wrong?"  
  
"Get Chris, Indy, Rob, Pixel, and Slasher here pronto." I looked helplessly at the echidna. "I may have given someone the means to dimension-jump without even realizing it."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------*  
  
Meanwhile, in another dimension, another inventor was working on his own dimensional gateway. This inventor, however, wasn't that successful.  
  
The explosion shook every house in a three-mile radius. Three humans, a rabbit, a ferret, and... something... fled the house, smoke pouring from the open door behind them.  
  
"I thought you had that thing fixed!" one of the humans, a female college student, complained.  
  
"Yeah," one of the other humans, a male in a plaid shirt, agreed, coughing. "What happened to 'This time I'll actually get it right'?"  
  
The third human pulled a pad of paper from beneath his trenchcoat, muttering, "Let me check my notes."  
  
"You know, Riff, it's funny; last time you said that was right after your LAST invention exploded."  
  
"That wasn't my fault! Kiki decided to start pushing buttons!"  
  
Upon hearing the word "buttons", the ferret started jumping up and down. "Ooh, buttons? Where?"  
  
"Knock it off right now, Kiki, before I have to hurt you," the rabbit cut in, pulling out a rather nasty switchblade.  
  
The college student turned around suddenly. "Um, Torg?"  
  
Without turning, the plaid shirt replied, "Yeah, Zoe?"  
  
"Is a dimensional gate supposed to look like a big hole in reality with all kinds of color swirling around in it?"  
  
"I dunno. Why?"  
  
"Riff", the man in the trenchcoat, turned and saw what Zoe was looking at. "I think she's asking because there's a dimensional gate right behind you, Torg."  
  
Torg whirled around to see exactly what Zoe had described. "Um, Riff? Did you cause this?"  
  
"Let me check my notes."  
  
Before Riff could reach for his notepad again, a figure in full military dress came through the gate. The man pulled a gun and pointed it at the group. "You're all coming with me. The general needs proof that the experiment was a success."  
  
-------------------------------------------------------*  
  
"Let me get this straight. You GAVE the secret to dimensional travel to one of your professors in a college essay?!?" Slasher paced the length of the room, which for her meant taking two steps before turning.  
  
"It was disguised as theory and I left out critical bits of information. How the heck was I supposed to know that she would fill in the gaps so quickly?"  
  
"Do you have exact coordinates? We need to stop this now."  
  
"We can jump into the area through their portal, trash the equipment, and book it out of their with an emergency portal generator."  
  
All right, but it's you, me, and Chris. The smaller the group, the better. Let's do it."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Great," Zoe complained. "As if my life wasn't complicated enough, now I've been abducted by a paramilitary group from another dimension. And I thought the time machine had been a bad idea."  
  
"Zoe?"  
  
"Yeah, Riff?"  
  
"You mind SHUTTING UP before they start interrogating me to see what ELSE I've invented?"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"At least they didn't bring Aylee," Torg cut in.  
  
The gate opened, and two uniformed men came through. They threw the green thing they had been carrying into an adjacent cell. The alien poked its head out from beneath its wings. "Hi guys."  
  
"Aylee!"  
  
Zoe glared at Torg. "You had to open your big mouth, didn't you?"  
  
The gate flared to life again. The major difference this time was that this wasn't part of the experiment.  
  
"What's going on?" the colonel in charge demanded. "Who opened the gate?"  
  
"The dimensional tunnel was initiated from the other end, colonel!" one of the techs replied.  
  
"What? How is that possible? No one else could have invented transdimensional travel! This was a G.U.N.-only project!"  
  
An armored figure emerged from the gate carrying a lightsaber. "I beg to differ. I've come to declare patent infringement. Sorry, but this equipment needs to be shut down."  
  
"Who the heck are you?" the colonel demanded.  
  
The armored figure was soon joined by a human who was glowing so brightly as to be luminescent and a velociraptor... one with birdlike wings held closely to its sides.  
  
"I'm your worst nightmare," the one in armor replied, and in one swift move bisected the computer running the portal frame.  
  
"NO! Our only copy of the files!" the colonel screamed. "Get them!"  
  
The raptor went straight for the cages, breaking the locks with near surgical precision. While the glowing figure distracted and disarmed the men in uniform, the armored figure did as much property damage as possible.  
  
"Come on," the raptor told the freed captives. Aylee, who had up to this point remained inert, spread her wings happily, sending out a massive electromagnetic pulse. All the circuitry in the near vicinity was fried, leaving the glowing human and the armored one's lightsaber as the only sources of light in the room.  
  
It was at that point that another dimensional portal opened, only this one wasn't bound to the destroyed portal frame. The raptor herded everyone through it, pausing to pick up the ferret, who had stopped to look at the "pretty glowing thing", and chuck her through. She followed them through, and the luminescent and the suit of armor came soon after. The portal winked out, plunging the room into total darkness.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Well, that went well."  
  
"Right. We now have an electromagnetic, potato-eating alien, a web designer, a mad scientist/inventor, a college student, a hyperactive ferret, and a psycho rabbit taking up temporary residence in your basement, and the mission went well? I'd hate to see a mission you thought DIDN'T go well."  
  
"Oh, chill out Chris. By the way, nice glow-in-the-dark thing you had going."  
  
"Part of the Chaos Amber. Discovered it over the semester."  
  
"Yeah, lucky you. YOU could still USE your gem, while I was stuck being plain ol' me all semester."  
  
"Oh, quit griping, you two," Slasher cut in. "How's everyone doing downstairs, by the way?"  
  
I ticked off each of our guests on my hand as I listed them. "Kiki discovered the arcade machines and has been going nonstop on the 'pretty buttons' ever since. Bun-bun found a Baywatch marathon on TV. (Don't ask. I have no idea, either.) Riff is trying to figure out the dimensional coordinates of their home dimension so we can send them home. Torg found the Dreamcast and is trying to beat all my high scores. (He's getting closer than I'd like.) Zoe is reading a magazine, though how she can do that with all that going on down there I have no idea. Aylee is happily munching on french fries, and I shielded the closet so she can release her EM pulses safely."  
  
"Sounds like everything's taken care of."  
  
"Well, at least until we can get them home. It looks like it's going to be harder than we originally thought; Riff's having a hard time extrapolating the coordinates from here. It would have been easier if he'd done that before those paramilitary freaks abducted them. Anyway, at least the college campus suffered no ill effects of Aylee's EMP."  
  
"Unless you count some serious downtime on the power grid."  
  
"Look, I didn't even realize that base was smack underneath the power plant until we got the heck out of there. One of those things where the best-case scenario just happened to include some negative side effects."  
  
"Okay. So now what? We going to just hang around and wait for Riff to get those coordinates?"  
  
"Not exactly. I'm going to go snooping around the campus and see if I can figure out who those people are and why the heck they were messing with my technology." I activated the transporter. "Don't wait up for me."  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
I discovered something as I strolled around the dark campus. One, Arizona State is a lot darker when the power grid's down, and two, I had gained yet another ability. I wondered when I would hit my limit for new abilities. I mean shoot, I had the power of the elements, wasn't that enough?  
  
It's hard to explain, but I'll try. I had gained some sort of sixth sense, kinda like a Jedi radar. Occasionally I would get these sensations of a dark presence, but the impressions were fleeting. Then at one point the sensation remained, and it felt like it was getting closer. The closer the feeling got, the more my left hand twitched. Suddenly the dark spot on my consciousness blazed into a full red alert and I got the clear impression that I was about to get skewered.  
  
By reflex my left hand, the metal one, swung around and down as I whirled to face may attacker. Four blades, each six inches long, clattered to the ground.  
  
"You know, I really hate it when you do that." The voice caught my attention. There not three feet away, was Robo Knux.  
  
"...the heck? You're toasted! You should be in a million pieces buried in my backyard!"  
  
"Yes, well, I also happened to be someone's little test project. Somehow this little paramilitary group discovered that my circuitry was buried in your backyard, so they waited until you were gone and no one was watching, then they dug me up and reassembled me. They reactivated me last night after a major disaster with some dimensional portal project. I almost told them you'd invented it first, but I didn't get the chance. They told me to patrol the area in case someone came back. I did kinda expect to keep my spikes longer than 24 hours, though." The robot-echidna folded his arms sulkily. "What the heck kinda alloy have you got in that sword, anyway?"  
  
"Sword? What sword?" Then I happened to glance down at my hand for the first time since turning around. "Good night," I breathed.  
  
In place of the metal hand was a sword, roughly 3 feet in length, and sharper than any blade I've ever seen. As I watched, the sword slowly melted back into the form of my hand. I flexed my fingers just to make sure I wasn't imagining things.  
  
"Now that is just freaky," I said aloud.  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Listen, you think you could possibly get outta here? I'm going to have a hard enough time explaining to these people how I lost the spikes. I really don't want them melting me down for failing to do my job."  
  
"You answer some questions for me, and I'll reattach the spikes myself before I leave."  
  
"Fire away."  
  
"I'd love to take that comment at face value, but... Anyway, who are these people? This paramilitary group?"  
  
"The only name I've heard thrown around is G.U.N., and no one ever explains what it means."  
  
"What are they doing with all this experimental technology? Such as the plans for MY Dimensionalizer?"  
  
"Oh, so they were using your stuff? Hmmm, that's interesting. Actually it appears to be their specialty. "The General" called some time after I was activated and yelled a blue streak at the woman in charge. Mentioned a cloning project, as well as me and a few other pseudo-scientific things."  
  
Using the Lightning Stone and my fingers as an impromptu arc welder, I reattached the last of RK's spikes. "Thanks for the info. If they ask, just tell them you ran someone off. You won't even have to lie to them."  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Why does it seem that Mecha Bots have more lives than cats?" Rob complained.  
  
"Well at least he wasn't his normal hypnotizing, back-stabbing self. I think G.U.N. left out one of his personality chips."  
  
"Well thank God for small favors. How's your hand, by the way?"  
  
"Pretty good. Why, you think my hand morphing into a sword is a bad thing?"  
  
"Well, if it only happens when you WANT it to, it's a good thing. But if it's merely reflex..."  
  
"You're afraid I could be startled by something and slice the wrong person."  
  
"In a nutshell, yes."  
  
"I'll work on that. Also, I've been thinking about something."  
  
Without warning, the power went out.  
  
"Aylee!"  
  
From the basement stairs came a faint "Sorry."  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
I was back on the ASU campus the following day, trying to piece together all the info I'd collected over the past week. It was during this little trip that I became convinced my life was one huge crossover gone horribly wrong.  
  
It started as I headed out to the power plant. A pillar built specifically for the purpose of posting flyers was plastered with papers reading "all your base are belong to us". "If I see that phrase one more time..." I muttered to myself. Just then the ground shook violently, and a figure clad in jeans and a bomber jacket came bursting out of the power plant. He was looking behind him and didn't see me, and I was too shocked to get out of the way.  
  
In under two seconds I was flat on my back. Reflex kept my head from hitting the pavement. "You're not from around here, are you?" I asked the guy as he quickly got back on his feet.  
  
"Yeah, you could say that."  
  
"I gotta hand it to ya, you definitely know how to sabotage."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Well, either you blew up their dimensional gateway or it went critical on them. I'm trying to protect my invention from those people. Come on, I've got a place you can stay until we can get you home."  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"They got it working AGAIN?"  
  
"Yeah, and I think they're just punching in random numbers for coordinates. My fear is that they'll link to a dimension with big, ugly, nasty, evil creatures bent on destroying everything in sight."  
  
"So what have we got right now? The primary cast of a web-comic and Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy 8. Who next, Guybrush Threepwood?"  
  
I laughed at Chris' suggestion. "To be honest that wouldn't surprise me in the least. We have to stop them from using the technology, somehow."  
  
"What are you going to do, patent it?" Slasher inquired.  
  
The proverbial light bulb clicked on. "Slasher, that's IT! We'll go public with this and get copyright protection!"  
  
Rob cut in. "Forgive me for saying so, but are you NUTS? You think the world is going to believe that a college student invented a device that makes inter-dimensional travel possible?"  
  
"So we'll disguise it as something else... A teleporter!"  
  
"En ingles, por favor?"  
  
"Look, we use the Dimensionalizer for travel between locations here on earth, right?"  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"We market this right, and we may not only prevent illegal use of the technology, but we may propel travel into the next century!"  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
Two days later...  
  
The General looked at Colonel Ferris out of the corner of his eye. The secretary swallowed, but gave no other signs of nervousness.  
  
"Tell me, Colonel... You say that you succeeded in using this transdimensional equipment twice?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"And both times the equipment was destroyed?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"And what caused it?"  
  
"The first time, three creatures came through the gateway and destroyed the equipment and kidnapped the test subjects. The second time, the test subject himself pulled a weapon and began destroying the equipment. He managed to disarm our men and escaped."  
  
"This project is starting to look like a losing proposition."  
  
Colonel Ferris remained silent.  
  
"This student of yours... does he wear a glove on his left hand, by any chance?"  
  
"No, sir. I knew him well over the semester. He never wore gloves."  
  
"That intrigues me. Since he was wearing a glove at today's press conference."  
  
The colonel was taken aback. "Press conference, sir?"  
  
"I'm surprised you didn't hear about it... Especially since he was down in Tucson marketing our dimensional portal project as a long-distance teleporter."  
  
"What?"  
  
The general flicked on a TV news station, which was still abuzz over the teleporter. A video clip came on, demonstrating the technology...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
"I realize many of you think that this may all be smoke and mirrors," I told the press. "As proof that this is legitimate, we have placed the teleporter frame directly against a pre-existing cinder-block wall. There is no possible way anyone could come through that frame from the other side.  
  
"We also have several cameras set up for a live feed in Phoenix right now. Christine, are you there?" I turned my attention to the screen behind me and saw Chris' face grinning back at me.  
  
"I'm right here on the ASU campus, Ryan! Just how many members of the press did you invite, anyway?"  
  
"I thought it was supposed to be a blanket invitation!"  
  
"Well you got enough people here, all right. There's no way people will be able to dispute this."  
  
"Shall we demonstrate?"  
  
"Let's fire it up!"  
  
A press member raised his hand. "Mr. Carroll, I realize that this is such a new technology that you may feel it unwise to reveal the intricate workings of the machine... but for the record, what exactly is the experience like? Is it as simple as walking through a doorway?"  
  
I smiled in reply. "Well, we're working on that, but currently it's more like a tunnel. Essentially what this device does is it forges a pathway that is slightly out of sync with reality as we know it. A person enters the tunnel at one end and comes out the other. You have to practice to acheive a good landing, though. The first time I tried it I fell flat on my face."  
  
The crowd of reporters laughed at that, and I turned my attention back to the screen. "Okay, Chris, start 'er up!"  
  
As the gateway flared into existence, reporters and cameramen gasped in amazement. The gasps turned to cheers as Chris appeared on stage next to me.  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Looks like everything went well. You told them about the monitoring system, I see."  
  
"Yeah, it's kinda like air traffic control. Wouldn't want those tunnels getting crossed."  
  
"Wouldn't want any rogue tunnels being formed by unscrupulous paramilitary groups, either," Slasher replied with a smile.  
  
I shrugged. "All we have to do is watch for any out-of-dimension tunnels being forged. 'The dangers are too great', and all that, you know."  
  
"But of course."  
  
"So, what happens now?"  
  
"We go back to life as usual," I replied, popping a Dr. Pepper can open with the tip of my blade-hand.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
"So, what happens now, general?"  
  
"We work on finding a way to circumvent the detection. When that's done, we move onto Project Cetra."  
  
"Project Cetra? But sir--!"  
  
"No arguments, colonel. I want to see results, and quickly."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
  
  
To be continued... 


	2. On the Run: A New Team Comes Together

On the Run  
by Ryan Carroll  
  
"Slow down! You're going to get us killed!"  
  
"We're not going under 75 until I can tell they've stopped following us!"  
  
"Why didn't you take a back road?"  
  
"This car can't handle off-road driving! A humvee CAN! As soon as they're gone, we'll stop for a bit."  
  
"Mind if I switch the radio on? Maybe it'll take my mind off the car engine. And the fact I'm running for my life."  
  
"Be my guest." The radio clicked on and began blasting "Can You Feel the Sunshine". The pace of the song prompted me to floor the accelerator.  
  
"How fast can this thing go?" my passenger inquired. I looked at her.  
  
"As fast as possible. We're going to need to stop for gas soon. I want to get as much distance as possible before we do. They may miss us completely, and we can head back the other direction."  
  
"How do you know they didn't put a tracer on the car?"  
  
"If they did, we're toasted. Let's pray they didn't have that much forethought."  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Chris, calm down. You don't know all the details about what's going on."  
  
"He just ignored me! Said he 'couldn't get me involved', like I've never been in danger before!"  
  
"There has to be a reason. With Ryan there's always a reason."  
  
"Slash, you're not helping. He left town with some other girl. He didn't want to face me after what he did."  
  
"Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll go track him down and find out what's going on. I'll let you know when I get back, okay?"  
  
The raptor's cool voice calmed Christine somewhat. "All right... but you be careful. It's not very safe for you to fly around here."  
  
"I know. I'll just run... really fast."  
  
With that the raptor took off.  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
That night, at a motel near the state line...  
  
"Have a good night."  
  
"You too, Ryan." With that she entered her room as I entered mine.  
  
I feared for her safety, but I wasn't so paranoid as to insist we sleep in the same room, and neither was she. We'd agreed that if anything happened, she'd secretly dial my room on the phone to wake me and alert me to trouble.  
  
I was just about to turn out the light when a large shape landed on the balcony. I immediately tensed. I waited until the silhouette slid open the glass door a crack...  
  
"Mind if I come in?"  
  
I let out a sigh of relief. "Come on in, Slasher."  
  
The winged velociraptor slid the curtain aside and stepped into the room. "I almost passed you up. The car cover fooled me for a sec."  
  
"Let me guess. Christine freaked and you came after me to find out what's going on."  
  
"Good guess. Where's the girl?"  
  
"One room over. I'm not that kind of guy."  
  
"Good for you. So, care to tell me what's going on?"  
  
"I don't even know the whole story myself, Slash, but I'll tell you what I do know..."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Class, this is my newest TA, Miss Gainsborough. I expect you to treat her the same way you'd treat me."  
  
I didn't have any problem with that, since I always treated my profs with a great deal of respect. I mean, shoot, they knew a heck of a lot more than I did.  
  
There was something about this girl, though. Something that really caught my attention. She treated us with more respect than most of us treated her. And she didn't seem to care.  
  
After the semester was over, I discovered that she'd talked the professor into raising a couple of our grades. We'd really been trying hard, she'd said, it was just one of those difficult topics. The prof actually agreed!  
  
Even Chris was taken aback by this whole thing. She told me afterward she wished she'd gotten more help in some areas of the class. She'd taken the same course with a different prof, a really strict, by-the-book kinda guy.  
  
Anyway, that's beside the point. I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary around campus, really. Wish I'd been able to see this coming. Anyway, Aeris (as she insisted we call her) came to me about a week ago and explained her dilemma.  
  
She was a G.U.N. experiment. They'd pulled her out of her home dimension and tried to do some tests on her. She managed to escape, but she needed cash to make a living. So she took a couple jobs at the college.  
  
Then G.U.N. found her again. I don't know why she came to me or how she knew to come to me for help, but I agreed to help her get out of the state.  
  
Thing is, there's something diferent about this girl. She's not a normal human, I think. Maybe that's why they wanted her for testing. But I'm not about to just hand her over to them. I'm just afraid someone's going to accuse me of kidnapping her. Then what would I do? I can't really point a finger at G.U.N., because people would call me a liar and a conspiracy theorist.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
"Which is worse?"  
  
"I'd have to say liar."  
  
"I agree. Anything I can do to help?"  
  
"Besides explain the situation to Chris? Could you check my car for a tracer?"  
  
"Not a problem. Anything else?"  
  
"Well, uh, to be perfectly honest, there is one thing..."  
  
The raptor nodded. "I knew there would eventually be a time. You know the signals?"  
  
"One, three, five."  
  
"Good." The raptor placed a cool metal object in my hand, then turned toward the balcony. "You know, you could make this a bit easier on yourself..."  
  
"Huh? How?"  
  
"Light bends easily. Use your stone to create an illusion, should you get caught." With that, the raptor took off, leaving only the wind to blow at the curtain...  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
The next morning, I watched the news as I got ready to go. It was during the time I was getting my breakfast that my heart sank.  
  
"The FBI is currently looking on the lookout for an 18-year-old male accused of kidnapping an Arizona State University employee..." I looked at my half-eaten donut, threw it away, down a glass of orange juice, and got out of the motel with Aeris as fast as was humanly possible.  
  
Despite the rush, the girl was definitely observant. "What's with the whistle?"  
  
"It's a gift from a friend of mine. C'mon, let's get going."  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
I managed to sneak us back into Phoenix by masquerading my car as something completely different from what I was actually driving. I knew that my best bet to get Aeris someplace safe was to get to a different dimension.  
  
Several months before I'd "invented" the teleporter, cutting travel time to a miniscule fraction of what it had been before. Certain stations had been set up as control centers, designed to prevent travel outside specific parameters.  
  
What few others knew is that I had created the teleporter by setting limits on the Dimensionalizer. I had also limited the control centers to watching the traffic between points on Earth. No one would detect a portal linking outside the local dimension.  
  
I had also set it up so I could use this feature from any teleporter by simply swiping a keycard. To anyone watching, I would merely be exercising inventor's privilege of unrestricted travel... which was true, to some extent.  
  
However, I couldn't just waltz up to any old portal frame and swipe my card. That would be advertising my precise location to anyone trying to track me.  
  
Thus was the reason I was sneaking into my own house and keeping as low a profile as possible. Once inside, I switched on the Dimensionalizer, pulled out the camcorder, and began taping a message.   
  
Minutes after I finished, I heard someone beating down the door. I locked down the Dimensionalizer controls and hurried Aeris through the portal, following immediately after.  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
"All the SWAT team found was a videotape."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Project Cetra is with him."  
  
Colonel Ferris waited for the general's blue streak to finish before continuing. "He also is getting too close for comfort."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Our contact managed to get this audio recording of the tape's content."  
  
The tape player in her hand began playing at the push of a button...  
  
"I'm leaving this tape for anyone who tries to find me. Chris, if you're watching this, I advise you to get out of there as quickly as possible. They may come after you next. Take the teleporter to our usual meeting place.  
  
"For anyone else who may be looking for me, namely federal agents or local law enforcement, I'm going into hiding, and recommending anyone close to me to do the same. Why am I doing this? Because there's something underlying all this, something I can't quite pinpoint. It might be nothing, or it might be the key to this entire so-called kidnapping allegation.  
  
"Miss Gainsborough is with me, but in no way, shape, or form did I kidnap her. She came to me, asking for help. There are people who want her, for whatever reason, and I suspect I may have run into these people before.  
  
"I wouldn't try to trace my teleporter, nor would I try to use it. Only those with the password can unlock the controls, and there are very few of us. You can't trace it because I designed my own system to be untraceable. I can't reveal every little thing about my technology, now can I?  
  
"I'm not going to return home until I have enough information to clear my name and implicate those who are truly responsible.  
  
"I have to reveal the truth about my teleporter..." --here came a banging sound; the SWAT team pounding down the door, actually-- "but I can't do it now. We're going somewhere safe, where I can freely investigate the crimes committed against myself and others. I will leave another videotape here in a week." The sound cut to static, at which point Colonel Ferris stopped the tape.  
  
"Someplace safe? Where does he think he can hide from us? We'll hunt him down with the teleporter network, turn him in, and continue with our project. Now, where is the Cetra? I know you put that tracer on her person..."  
  
"The tracer has been silent for over a day. Like she's disappeared off the face of the planet."  
  
The general's face darkened for a moment. "So, he's going to be that tricky, is he? Cycle through some alternate dimensions with the portal and see if you can pick up the signal. That should work."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"And prepare a report on the Shadow Project."  
  
"As ordered, general."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aeris scratched at her arm absently. Chris didn't notice; she was too busy berating me.  
  
"How could you be so careless as to let this happen? Don't you realize that most people consider fleeing the law as an admission of guilt?"  
  
"What was I supposed to do, turn myself in and get railroaded? There's an undercurrent here, and I think the Dimensionalizer is the key." I glanced over at Aeris. "You okay?"  
  
The girl looked up, realizing what she was doing. "I'm fine. Just an itch."  
  
"You sure? I've noticed you've been scratching that spot an awful lot lately."  
  
"I'm okay, really."  
  
I glanced over at Chris. "You care to take a look?"  
  
"What am I, your personal microscope?" she replied with a smile. She walked over to Aeris' chair, held the girl's arm, and peered at the spot where she'd been scratching. I saw Chris's pendant glow slightly as she used the Chaos Amber's sensory enhancement.  
  
"Did they give you any shots?"  
  
"Yeah, a couple. Why?"  
  
"Uh, oh. That's what I was afraid of."  
  
"What? What is it?" I inquired.  
  
"There's a microchip embedded in her arm. Most likely a tracer."  
  
"Oh, no! That means all they have to do is use their dimensional portal and--"  
  
Several shots rang out in the common area in the midst of Knothole. Then a voice called out, "Bring us the Cetra and no one else gets hurt!"  
  
"Track us here," I finished. I took a quick peek out the window to see a uniformed soldier with a gun in one hand and Tails in the other. Sonic lay in a heap on the ground.  
  
I whipped around to face the others. Aeris was ashen-faced, while Chris looked concerned. "Where's Slasher?" I asked.  
  
"Last I knew she was on a recon mission."  
  
"Well, I always wondered how this thing worked. Now's as good a time as any..." With that I raised the silver whistle to my lips and blew. And blew. And blew. Twice more. Feeling better knowing that backup was on the way, I signaled the others to stay inside and opened the door.  
  
The gun swung around to aim at me as I stepped out into the open. "Well, well, if it isn't the kidnapper. Where is the Cetra?"  
  
"Who? I have no idea what a Cetra is, much less who you think is here."  
  
The attacker laughed. "You obviously have no idea of the girl's potential. No closer! One step closer and the fox here gets it." The barrel turned to aim straight at Tails' head.  
  
Oh, man!, I thought. One wrong move and we'd have two casualties... I could try to use my elemental abilities, but which one to use? Most of them would probably hurt Tails in the process...  
  
An extra-sharp claw rested on the soldier's shoulder. "You wouldn't be threatening my friend, would you?"  
  
The ice in Slasher's voice was cold enough to freeze my blood where I stood. For a second I almost pitied the man. Almost.  
  
"Uh, I uh, that is... er..."  
  
"Finger off the trigger. Fox on the ground. Gun in my hand. You have two seconds. One..."  
  
Never in my life have I seen the human body move so fast. Tails fell to the ground and ran to a safe distance. The soldier, however, had no intention of following through with relinquishing his weapon. He whirled around, aimed the gun at Slasher...  
  
And received a blast of hot air in the face as Slasher unleashed a scream right in his face. The look of sheer terror on his face was almost comical. He slumped to the ground in a dead faint. Slash picked up the gun. "Two," she finished.  
  
Chris and Aeris came running out. Slasher had already put down the gun and bent down over Sonic's body. Tails came running up soon after. "Is... is he..."  
  
"No, but he might as well be," Slasher replied. "He's lost way too much blood. Only a transfusion can save him..." She trailed off.  
  
Suddenly a breeze blew through the clearing, swirling around each of us. Sonic opened his eyes. "Anyone hungry?" he said weakly. I know I am..."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Well, we've finally filled in some gaping holes in this plot," Chris noted.  
  
I nodded. "Yeah, Mr. GUN was highly cooperative while being interrogated by Slasher. Turns out Aeris is from a different dimension, and they pulled her through because they found out she had 'special abilities'. I think we may have seen some of these abilities in action, eh, Aeris?"  
  
She shrugged. "It's something I've been able to do for a while. When someone is hurting, I do what I can to help."  
  
"And yet, no normal human is capable of doing that. The guy kept calling you 'the Cetra'. What the heck was he talking about?"  
  
"It's the name of my race. Actually, I'm only half-Cetra, and I'm the last one at that. I have no idea what they wanted with me. It reminded me of the time Shinra caught me."  
  
I sensed that was a sore subject, so I diverted onto a different topic. "There's only one problem. Now the people at GUN know where to look. We need to get rid of that tracer and we need to get to another dimension, pronto. Not only that, but this is another incident that will go unnoticed should I end up going to trial..."  
  
"Well, I wouldn't say that..." Chris replied.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Guess who got a video of the entire confession?" she replied, holding up a camcorder.  
  
"Including the part where he explained how they got a hold of my Dimensionalizer plans?"  
  
"Oh, you know I got that. I feel like the portal is just as much mine as yours, lately."  
  
"That's why I love ya. So, any ideas as to where we can go to hide?"  
  
Aeris spoke up. "Why don't we head back to my home world? That's the last place they'd think to look."  
  
"Yeah, but if that tracer still works, couldn't they just use that?" Chris cut in.  
  
"Not if I can get rid of it," I replied.  
  
"Yeah, and how are you going to do that? The thing's implanted in her ARM, for crying out loud."  
  
"Like this," I shot back. I looked at Aeris. "This may hurt a bit."  
  
The Cetra nodded. "Do what you have to."  
  
I concentrated, then sent a small zap of electricity through Aeris' arm. The circuitry was shot, Chris verified, which was just was I'd hoped. Now GUN couldn't track us down.  
  
"Now, how to get the coordinates for our destination..." I mused. My chuckle brought strange looks in my general direction. I looked back at the girls.  
  
"I'm going to do a little hacking," I replied with a grin.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
"A little hacking, you said. You didn't say you were going to go Metal Gear on me."  
  
"C'mon, Chris, this is the easiest way, you know that."  
  
"True, but I don't like the idea of you d-warping into their computer system to go nosing around. What happens if they notice something?"  
  
"There'll be nothing to trace. It's virtually impossible to track a hacker if he's not actually connected to the system. In my case I'm in, I get the info I need, and I get out. It's like hacking in, but with a greatly lessened risk of detection."  
  
"I still say you should've asked Squall to do something like this."  
  
"What, and risk him getting taken in for 'aiding and abetting a criminal'? Not gonna happen. I've taken great pains to keep those guys out of this. It's my fault they're on Earth in the first place."  
  
"All right, but you be careful."  
  
"Just hit 'send', sweetheart. I'll get back to you in one whole byte, I promise."  
  
In reply, the bay doors on the other side of the Virtua Lounge opened into the data stream, and I rushed into cyberspace.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
The next day...  
  
"None of this looks familiar. Are you sure you picked up the right set of coordinates?"  
  
"I specifically went for the Project Cetra file. For all I know some computer-illiterate desk jockey got the files swapped."  
  
The three of us were surrounded by Japanese city buildings. Aeris was as lost as I was. Chris was no help.  
  
"Well, maybe this is just a city you've never been to, Aeris. Could that be it?"  
  
The Cetra shook her head. "I've been all over my home world, and besides, I don't recognize the language. I think Ryan's right."  
  
"Hmmm," I thought aloud. "The Project Cetra file _was_ right next to the Masaki Project file..."  
  
"You mean you might have pulled the wrong one?"  
  
"No! I'm saying that it's possible the data got swapped. Who knows how often they defrag around there."  
  
"Say, while you were in their system, did you do any other espionage-like things?"  
  
"Like, maybe, pulling up their roster of high-level officers? Right there on the hard drive."  
  
"How about high-level projects? Any of those?"  
  
"Unfortunately, no. They've got Fort Knox 4.0 as their security system for that sorta stuff. I did tell you I was coming back in one piece, so I said forget it."  
  
"Aw, how sweet of you to think of me."  
  
"Yep, that's me, Mr. Considerate. Hey, Aeris, you okay?"  
  
Aeris had seemingly dropped into a trance, and had started whispering to herself. Suddenly she looked up. "We need to head to the mountains. There's someone who can help us there."  
  
"How do you-- Oh, right, Cetra heritage and all that..."  
  
"Ryan! That was just plain rude!" Chris admonished.  
  
I shrugged, albeit apologetically. "Hey, I'm Mr. Considerate, not Mr. Tactful. Well, let's head for the mountains..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
"I should've known."  
  
"What, the fact that this was a dead end? The fact that no one's home? The fact that there's obviously something wrong with this picture?"  
  
"The fact that this dimension is anime."  
  
"...Oh."  
  
We stood at the front door of a house that obviously lacked occupants at the current moment. The place seemed to be totally deserted.  
  
"Excuse me..."  
  
I shot into the air about three feet and came back down with my sword at the ready. Don't ask me how, but this woman had defied physics by coming up behind us, through a yard filled with dry leaves, without making a sound.  
  
"Hey, take it easy, I live here. You wouldn't by any chance have seen a guy, 'bout this high, short black hair, would you?"  
  
Aeris cut in while I focused on returning my hand to normal. "No, we haven't, but we were here looking for him, too."  
  
"Oh, just great. Seems he's been missing for like two weeks now. What is it with Tenchi and disappearing, anyway?"  
  
The name rung a bell. "What did you say his name was?"  
  
"Tenchi. Tenchi Masaki. You're looking for him, I thought you knew his name."  
  
"Masaki..." I muttered. "Oh, no!"  
  
Everyone gave me strange looks. "The Masaki Project! They had the files there in their computer system! Oh, this is crazy! Those people keep messing with the continuum and they're going to make a mess!"  
  
"Excuse me, but could you mind backing up and explaining this from the beginning?"  
  
Before I could comply, another girl came running up, this one wearing a somewhat regal outfit. "Ryoko, have you found him?"  
  
"No, Ayeka, but I was just about to find out where he is. Seems this guy has an idea," she added, jerking a thumb in my direction.  
  
The purple-haired girl who'd just shown up grabbed me and got right up in my face. "You know where Lord Tenchi is?!?"  
  
"Well, it's a possibility--"  
  
"I don't need possibilities, I need answers!"  
  
"Hey, calm down; I'll tell you what I know..."  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
"I don't know about you, but I'm tempted to go busting into this place and getting Tenchi outta there."  
  
"Right, and have them capture you, and run tests on you, and implant a tracer in you..."  
  
"Hey, they wouldn't be able to touch me!"  
  
"Ryoko, he does have a point. You can't just waltz into the place and rescue Lord Tenchi just like that. There's bound to be all kinds of guards and such."  
  
"So what, YOU want to go rescue him, princess?"  
  
"Perhaps we should all go," Aeris cut in.  
  
Everyone looked at her strangely. "Well, I mean, we all have abilities that will come in handy, right? And not only can it be a rescue mission..."  
  
"But a sabotage mission," I finished. "Nice thinking!"  
  
"Hey, you mean we get to blow stuff up?"  
  
"To your heart's content."  
  
"All right! When do we start?"  
  
"First we have to formulate a plan. I managed to pull some files from GUN's computer that should help us with escape routes and such..."  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
There were two ways we could do this. We could go the quiet, stealthy route, doing only what was necessary, or we could go in with guns blazing, doing as much damage as possible.  
  
These people were trying to ruin my life. They were using my invention to kidnap and experiment on innocent people, they had framed me for kidnapping, and they had committed all kinds of horrendous acts prior to my experience with them.  
  
I was going to thrash anything that came within reach.  
  
We were just about ready to head through the portal into enemy territory, but I still had some tasks to delegate. "Ryoko, you're with me on assault detail. Chris, Aeris, you go with Ayeka and find Tenchi. When you get to him, use the emergency portal generator I gave you to get outta there. We'll follow once it becomes too dangerous for us to hang around. Everyone got the plan?"  
  
Everyone nodded in agreement. I activated the gateway and stepped through...  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
I never knew destruction could be so fun.  
  
I wisely pulled a file dump of the main database from the computer system... then proceeded to trash everything in sight. I made quick work of the computer, then went to work on the equipment.  
  
"Hey, don't you think that's enough damage for one day?"  
  
I didn't answer. I was too busy taking out my frustrations on anything with a GUN logo on it. I heard myself say, "We have to give them more time," but I don't think I was conscious of the fact that I said it at the time.  
  
"Well, I wonder how the others are doing..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
"Here he is."  
  
"It took us long enough to find him. How many guards have we taken out now? At least half a dozen."  
  
"The door's locked tight. It won't budge."  
  
"Step aside, Aeris." Ayeka pulled out what looked like a sword handle, focused on it... and split the door in two with a blade of energy.  
  
"Niiiiice," Chris murmured. "I don't think Ryan could've done that with as much style."  
  
"Hello? Who's there?"  
  
"Tenchi! It's so good to see you! Come on, we have to get out of here!"  
  
"Ayeka! You came to rescue me!"  
  
"Yes, Ryoko's here too, creating a diversion. Where's the best place to get out of here?" she added, directing the question at Chris.  
  
"End of the hall. It's wide enough for a decently-sized portal."  
  
They rushed to the end of the hall as a portal opened up. Chris was lagging behind a bit, as she'd had to concentrate on punching in the coordinates.  
  
In a split-second, disaster struck.  
  
Guards stepped out of a door that they hadn't seen before right in front of Chris. She tried to slide beneath them, but they grabbed her as she tried.  
  
"Aeris!" she cried out, pitching the portal remote towards the Cetra. Aeris turned and caught the remote, then saw Chris' predicament. "Chris!" She took a step towards the guards, trying to help. Two more guards stepped in her path.  
  
"Aeris, go! Save yourself!"  
  
"No! Not while you're in trouble!"  
  
"It's not worth it! I'll find some way to escape!"  
  
The guards closed in on Aeris.  
  
"Let me help you!"  
  
"I won't let you get caught because of me! Now GO!!!"  
  
"Chris!"  
  
"Tell Ryan... I love him!" she called out as the guards dragged her away.  
  
Aeris hesitated for a moment, then turned and dove through the portal, sealing it behind her.  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
"Well, I've got Sally's computer working on decrypting the file database I pulled," I commented as I exited the portal. "I tell ya, that was satisfying, toasting that stuff--"  
  
I broke off when I saw everyone's downcast faces. "What's wrong?" I looked around, noticing someone was absent. "Hey, where's Chris?"  
  
Aeris looked up, sorrow and apology evident on her face. "Ryan... I'm sorry..."  
  
No. No, this couldn't happen. She couldn't be...  
  
"They got her. I tried to help, but..."  
  
Somehow this was worse. I dropped to my knees in shock. "No..."  
  
"I'm so sorry..."  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Chris glared at the back of the chair in front of her. She had no idea who this guy was, but she didn't care. Whoever this was was in charge of the group who had tortured her new friends, framed her boyfriend, and otherwise made life miserable for those around her.  
  
The chair began to rotate. Time to give this guy a piece of her mind...  
  
Her jaw dropped as she recognized the chair's occupant.  
  
"...Dad?"  
  
  
To Be Continued... 


	3. All or Nothing: Death of a Heroine

All or Nothing  
by Ryan Carroll  
  
The dimension was simple, really... Not much was there except the park, the TV station, and the office complex that towered over everything there. Carroll Central had always been huge, even though it had decayed the most before I'd renewed this place.  
  
I sat on the edge of the roof, staring at nothing, trying my best to sort out my emotions.  
  
I'd come here, to this dimension of my own creation, for safety and refuge. I never imagined I would feel so vulnerable here.  
  
When the despair became almost too great to bear, I began praying. It was the only thing I had left, really. They had taken away my invention... my life... now they'd kidnapped my girlfriend. God was all I had left, and no one could take Him from me.  
  
For the first few minutes I probably sounded a lot like Job to God. I'd lost everything of value to me. I questioned God. How could He have let this happen? Why did everything happen to me this way?  
  
I soon realized that it wasn't God I should be questioning, but myself. Why did I care so much about these things? Because they were mine, and they'd been taken from me. But aren't all gifts given by God?  
  
I conceded the point. God had given me these gifts, and I had taken them for granted. I had to realize that much, at least.  
  
It was at this point that the tears came.  
  
I sat there, a broken man. A sinner saved by grace who had taken it for granted. I deserved nothing.  
  
For the first time since all this had started, I felt at peace. I actually felt like facing another day.  
  
I also felt a hand on my shoulder. A hand on each, actually. I smiled at Slasher and Aeris as I rose to my feet. "Come on," I told them. "We have another rescue to plan."  
  
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"So you do recognize me. I figured after all these years that you'd have forgotten me."  
  
"Forgotten you? How could I forget the man who left my mother to live with some girl half his age?"  
  
"Sweetheart, I'd hoped you wouldn't bring that up--"  
  
"Don't you dare call me that!" Chris snapped. "I forgave you for what you did, but that doesn't mean I ever want to see you again."  
  
"Well, it's a bit late to say that, isn't it?"  
  
"Just leave me alone and let me go, if you love me so much."  
  
"I'm afraid I can't do that, honey. After all, you were in a restricted area."  
  
"Oh, and you haven't been?!?"  
  
"I'm not quite sure what you mean."  
  
"You've been using a device that is patented to someone else to abduct people from their homes, and for what? Some stupid scientific experiment? What happened to a code of ethics?"  
  
"Chris, darling, this is all top-secret stuff. We don't need a code of ethics."  
  
"That's obvious enough."  
  
The general began to get annoyed. "And what's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Theft of intellectual property, kidnapping, framing someone for kidnapping..."  
  
"What do you mean, framing? The man abducted a poor young woman--"  
  
"She asked for his help because she was running away from you! You've taken away Ryan's LIFE just so you can do your little research projects!"  
  
"So you're on a first-name basis with him."  
  
"Well, duh, he's my boyfriend."  
  
"Now don't you take that tone of voice with me, young lady. I'm still your father, and--"  
  
"You're not my father. My father left ten years ago."  
  
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I stealthily crept through the hallways of the complex, remaining invisible. Being able to manipulate light was a wonderful thing sometimes. I came up to the door marked "General's Office" and waited. Someone came to make a delivery, and I followed him in. I waited till the deliveryman left, then crept around behind the secretary's chair and grabbed her neck in a choke hold.  
  
"Sorry, Professor Ferris," I said just before she slumped over on her desk, out cold. I checked to make sure I hadn't killed her, then stepped over to the door leading to the general's inner office. I listened for a moment.  
  
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"So that's how it is, is it?"  
  
"What are you going to do, throw me in jail? Kill me? Chuck me into some random dimension and hope for the best? You'll have a lot of explaining to do when he shows up."  
  
"When who shows up?"  
  
"ChaosJedi," Chris replied nonchalantly.  
  
"Who is that?"  
  
"He's someone who watches out for people. Specifically dimension-jumpers. If he finds out you've done something to me, he'll beat you to within half an inch of your life."  
  
"Oh, so it's your boyfriend we're talking about. We should have no problems with him."  
  
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I clenched a fist and was about to break down the door when the phone rang. I nearly jumped out of my skin, then realized that the secretary normally answers the phone. I silently cursed the bad timing, then prepared my best imitation of Professor Ferris' voice. I reached for the handset...  
  
"Never mind, Colonel Ferris," came the general's voice throught the door. "That's line Delta. I'll take it myself."  
  
I breathed a sigh of relief, then went back to listening at the door.  
  
"Hello? Ah, yes, Dr. Kintobor. What's that? Oh, good, so you do have the key ingredient of the Shadow Project waiting for me. Yes, I will exercise a considerable amount of caution in dealing with him. Yes, you can send him through the portal now."  
  
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"Shadow Project?" Chris asked when the general (she refused to think of him as her father) had hung up.  
  
"A pet project of mine that I've been working on for some time. I want to create a creature that is the best of everything. That's why I needed the Cetra and the young Masaki boy. For this project."  
  
"They do have names."  
  
"I'm well aware of that. But it doesn't matter to me. Fortunately I had a chance to sample their DNA before you and your precious boyfriend intervened. This creature I'm engineering will have the innate abilities of a Cetra healer, a Jurai prince... and the fastest creature ever known."  
  
Chris managed to keep a straight face. "You don't say."  
  
"He'll be my best operative. No one will be able to stand against him."  
  
"So that's why you kidnap these people? To play God with some building blocks?"  
  
"I'm growing tired of your impetuous attitude."  
  
"I'm surprised you even know what that word means."  
  
"Now you're insulting my intelligence."  
  
"What little there is of it."  
  
SLAP! "You'll learn to respect me, one way or another."  
  
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That was too much. I slammed through the door, knocking the hinges out of the frame. "You keep your hands off her," I growled. "Scum deserves no respect."  
  
"Well, if it isn't the kidnapper. Going to try to abduct her now?"  
  
"Look who's talking. I have to say, when it comes to abductions, you're starting to rival the aliens in the X-Files."  
  
"No one will believe you if you try to prove your innocence. To most people, you're guilty as charged. When my project is complete, I won't need to track you down. My operative will kill you on sight and I'll be rid of you."  
  
I grabbed the front of the general's jacket and got right up in his face. "YOU stole MY invention." I tossed him across his desk. "Then YOU stole MY life." I lit my lightsaber, sliced Christine's ropes, and pointed the tip right in his face. "Then YOU hurt MY girlfriend."  
  
He swallowed hard, looking for all the world like he knew he was about to die. I held the blade there for a moment, then clicked it off. "Death is too good for you. It gives you an easy out. You won't have to worry about what happens to you when your organization comes crashing down." I got in his face again. "I'm going to see you squirm, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."  
  
I turned to Chris. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine... Look out!"  
  
I felt the barrel of a gun against my neck. I could sense the trigger being pulled...  
  
The bullet ripped through the phone sitting on the desk. "Let me down!"  
  
Chris giggled. "You didn't have to pin him to the ceiling, you know. You could've just pulled the gun away from him."  
  
"But it wouldn't have been nearly as fun. Come on, we have to go get Sonic."  
  
"How do you know...?"  
  
"I'll explain later. Come on."  
  
As I closed the door to the outer office, I released my gravity hold on the general. I heard a satisfying crash as we walked off.  
  
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"So they have Sonic?"  
  
The whole group of us, including Slasher, Knux (who'd come to notify Slasher that Sonic had been captured), Aeris, Tenchi, Ayeka, Christine and myself, were sitting in the main control room of Carroll Central, planning our next move.  
  
"Yep. I tried to rescue him, but they'd already moved him by the time we got to the cell block. He's probably in transit to wherever they're taking him by now." I looked at Slasher and Knux apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't find anything about where they were headed."  
  
"It's not your fault, Ryan. We'll find him eventually, don't worry."  
  
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"It's not like they'd take him to a major city or anything."  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
"GUN-Frisco, this is GUN-chopper-one-three-niner, en route."  
  
"Roger, one-three-niner. What is status of cargo?"  
  
"Cargo is secured--" A crash was heard over the frequency. "What the expletive deleted?!?"  
  
"One-three-niner, state current situation."  
  
"The hedgehog is loose! He's taken out all the guards on board. It appears he plans to jump!"  
  
"One-three-niner, be advised that cargo is to remain unharmed!"  
  
Sonic, unaware of the conversation concerning him in the cockpit, did a flying dragon leap and kicked the side door out of the helicopter, falling out with it. He grabbed one of the missiles racked on the chopper, then flipped up onto the stabilizer. "Man, that was lame! No in-flight movie or peanuts!" His demeanor grew serious as he ripped a panel off the "wing" of the aircraft. "I'd feel better running from these guys, even though I have no idea where I am..."  
  
With that, the blue hedgehog secured his feet to the makeshift airboard and leaped off, heading straight for the hilliest section of San Francisco, California.  
  
The Golden Gate city would never be the same again.  
  
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"Hey, what's this thing?"  
  
"Huh?" I turned to face Aeris, who was just coming through the door to the command center carrying a necklace. I studied the pendant, and although it resembled Christine's Chaos Amber necklace, it was made of a different material. I handed it back to Aeris. "I have no idea. It doesn't look familiar. Maybe someone dropped it on their way through here. This dimension is a popular waypoint for interdimensional travelers."  
  
"Yeah, but wouldn't they be looking for it?"  
  
"Maybe without it they can't open a dimensional gate. Let me take a look at it again..."  
  
I stepped outside, scrutinizing the pendant with great attention to detail. A flash of something caught my eye. As I watched, a black and green swirl emanated from a spot on the ground. I walked over to it and watched it closely. It seemed more active now that I was closer. I looked at the flash of light, then at the amulet in my hand. I held the amulet in the light...  
  
And dropped through a hole in the ground as everything around me went black.  
  
When the darkness faded away, I looked around to see where I was. Ruined buildings were everywhere, as if the place had been hit by a massive tornado. then I recognized where I was...  
  
This was the dimension I had just left. Only now it was totally destoryed, as if...  
  
As if I'd never renewed it.  
  
I looked, and the flash of black and green was still there. I looked at the amulet, and it hit me. I had traveled to a parallel world, one in which I'd never drained the Element Stones renewing the place. The amulet was a key. A key... to dimensional portals!  
  
Wait a minute, my logical brain replied. How could that be a dimensional portal? Don't portals have to be created with a Dimensionalizer machine?  
  
"But who says they can't be a natural phenomenon? It's entirely possible," I replied aloud, trying to clear things up in my mind. Yeah, but you've never seen anything like this before. "Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it exists." Okay, point. So what are you going to do now? "I'm going to put this to good use."  
  
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"So this thing lets you see the flipside of things? Like if you'd never met me, for instance?" Chris inquired.  
  
"I think that's how it works. I'm still a bit fuzzy on all the details, but this may come in handy. We need to keep this safe," I replied, placing the amulet in a safe and locking it securely.  
  
"So what now? I mean it's not like we know where to go or anything..."  
  
"I'm thinking we need to find more of those rogue portals. Who knows how many renegades are out there that we've missed..."  
  
"Maybe we didn't miss them," Slasher cut in. "Maybe they weren't there before."  
  
"What? You mean like another interdimensional storm?"  
  
"No, I think there's so much use of the dimensional network that the stress on the continuum has caused microscopic tears in the fabric of reality."  
  
"That makes sense. Since when did you become a dimensional theorist?"  
  
"Since I met you," the raptor replied with a smile. "Although I do think it would be interesting to see the other side of the decisions we make every day."  
  
"Well, we'll have to exercise caution in using the amulet. Who knows what sorts of things we could screw up just by being on the flipside."  
  
"True. Care to see what's on TV?"  
  
One of the features of this dimension was that I had complete access to all sorts of communication between here and my home dimension. This included a phone (untraceable, of course), radio, Internet, and even TV. As I flipped it on, I saw a flash of blue trailing sparks down a hilly street. The news was currently featuring the latest from San Francisco.   
  
"In other news, a blue hedgehog was seen boarding through the streets of the Bay City area today, and was later caught running from an unmarked semi that seemed intent on mowing him down. The hedgehog disappeared from view soon after the semi ran into a solid brick wall. The driver was taken to the nearest hospital, unconscious but in stable condition.  
  
"This is the latest in a string of strange incidents that began over a year and a half ago. Scientists are attempting to work with teleporter technology to see if the recently invented transportation technology has anything to do with these events."  
  
"More than you'll ever know," I muttered to no one in particular. I signaled to Chris. "We're heading to San Francisco."  
  
"Are you sure that's wise? What if you get caught? You don't have the info you need to clear your name yet!"  
  
Aeris cut in. "Um, Ryan, you might want to see this."  
  
I turned to see my face plastered on the TV screen. I was wanted for the kidnapping of Aeris and Chris. ...Chris?!?  
  
"The General" came on screen (sans uniform, of course) was explaining what had happened, saying that his daughter had come to visit him and had subsequently been abducted from his home right in front of his eyes. He made it all seem so convincing I wanted to throw a shoe through the TV screen.  
  
I cast an accusing glance at Chris. "You never told me he was your dad."  
  
"He's not. At least I don't think of him as my dad. He left when I was young; ran off with some girl. Mom was so heartbroken... she'd really thought he was the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. To this day she hasn't remarried, always hoping he'll come back."  
  
I softened. "I'm so sorry. Why didn't you ever tell me about this?"  
  
"I knew you had both your parents, so I didn't know if you would really understand. I've always envied you, ya know. Your parents are such nice people..." She started to break down. "I feel like your dad is the father I've been missing all these years."  
  
"What happened to 'He shall be a Father to the fatherless'? You've been trying to deal with this on your own, Chris. You can't, I can't, no one can. Let it go."  
  
Chris smiled through her tears. "That's why I love you. You always know what to say."  
  
"I don't right now," I shot back with a lopsided smile. "Come on, I want some real food. What say we hit Jack-In-The-Box while we're in 'Frisco?"  
  
"Only if you promise not to order me any tacos this time. Those things set my mouth on fire!"  
  
We shared a laugh as we stepped through the dimensional portal.  
  
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I glanced at my reflection in the restaurant window as we entered. I'd had to alter Chris's appearance a bit with the Light Stone, but I didn't feel a need to do anything with my own. I hadn't shaved since I'd been forced into hiding. It had been a good three weeks now, and my beard was pretty thick. Chris complained that she didn't like the look, but accepted that I'd probably stay this way until I cleared my name. I'd also had my hair trimmed into a flat top to further alter my "mug shot". I figured it would be hard to link my face to that of a clean-cut college-student-slash-"kidnapper".  
  
Lunch went smoothly, but I noticed that as soon as we got up to leave, some guy across the room did the same. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he trailed us down the street. "Someone's following us."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"He's been trailing us ever since we left the restaurant. We need to lose him."  
  
"How?"  
  
"You have those emergency portal generators in your purse?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"Here's the plan..."  
  
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Agent Roland was nearly positive that he'd found the kidnapper. He didn't know who the girl was, but he suspected that she was his next target. He shadowed them as well as he could as they walked down the crowded streets of San Fran. This was great! Catching this kidnapper and closing the Carroll case would be his ticket out of the rookie assignments! His supervisor had considered it a risk putting Roland on this case in the first place, but Roland had been so eager to prove himself that he'd gone ahead with it. Well, Roland had no intention of letting his boss down. He'd be the one to close this case!  
  
He watched as the pair entered separate restrooms. Well this could be a problem. If one of them came out before the other, he could lose the kidnapper! He decided to go ahead and wait for them.  
  
And he waited. And waited. And waited... and waited some more. What could be taking him so long?  
  
He chose to take the risk that he was making a mistake and entered the men's bathroom...  
  
And found the place empty. Every stall, every sink, empty.  
  
"What the..." Roland muttered.  
  
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"I'd love to see the look on that guy's face right now..." I laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I bet it would've been hilarious," Aeris added.  
  
"I still don't quite grasp all of this..." Tenchi cut in from across the room. "How exactly did all this start?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm kind of interested myself," Aeris added.  
  
"All right, I'll explain, but then each of you has to tell the rest of us about your background. Agreed?"  
  
They both nodded, so I began. "A while back... man, I guess it was about three years now..."  
  
---------------------------------  
  
It all started with the Virtualizer. My friend Jason and I were trying out a new kind of virtual reality technology; technology that would let you step into a computer system and interact with it from the inside. We tried it out on a few different video games, but one of the most frustrating things about it was that the same character in two different games wouldn't recognize us. It was like talking to a person who had selective amnesia, and all the lost memories had to do with you.  
  
We shelved the project except for a few trips into Mainframe, a massive computer system. I actually got to revisit the place a while back, only through a dimensional portal this time, but I'm getting off the subject.  
  
Eventually we thought of creating a link between dimensions. It took a lot of effort, but with some help we finally succeeded. Unfortunately there was a problem with electromagnetic fields, and we wound up with a dimensional vacuum. We accidentally sucked a few Mobians through, as well as the seven Chaos Emeralds. It turned out that seven of us had become the new guardians of the emeralds.  
  
Some time after... I guess it'd be a year and a half now... Robotnik managed to get his hands on the dimensional technology, and it wouldn't be the last time. Anyway, he managed to reengineer it so that rather than creating a portal in a frame, it projected it a set distance away. He took over the Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona and projected a couple of portals through the telescopes they have up there. The result was a collision of dimensions. I know that our dimension still hasn't recovered entirely from the world-crash.  
  
We ended up on a search for our emeralds, only to find them drained of their energy after Sonic had battled Perfect Chaos, a huge water monster. Knuckles told us about the Element Stones, so we set out to find them to recharge our emeralds. After a few trials, we succeeded.  
  
That brings us to the point where everything changed. I graduated from high school and moved to Arizona. Before I left I got together with the team one more time and wound up with all seven emeralds. Shortly after I started classes at Arizona State, I met Chris. We hit it off right away. After a couple of weeks, I was ready to tell her about my double life, but just as I was about to, she vanished from sight.  
  
[I noticed at this point that Chris became a bit uncomfortable with the discussion. I didn't really blame her; the shock at seeing her vanish had nearly sent me over the brink.]  
  
I found out that she wasn't supposed to have died when she did, so I went back in time and saved her life. When I got back to the present I showed her everything. She actually took it fairly well...  
  
["Well, there was that one point when you introduced her to me," Slasher interrupted.  
"Well, yeah, there was that..."  
"What happened?" Tenchi inquired.  
"I fainted," Chris replied with a smirk. Everyone burst out laughing.  
"Hey, you'd have too if you'd seen a winged raptor open a door right in front of you without any forewarning!"]  
  
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Chaos8. Back during the world collision, some kid managed to get a hold of the eighth Chaos Emerald. Nasty gem. Turned the kid totally evil, and he's got it in for me. He's the one I had to save Chris from, and he was back for revenge. He joined up with Robotnik, but after a double-triple cross, he was sent to the Interweb for the umpteenth time. That's when things got nasty.  
  
Chaos8 possessed Robotnik's body, and Robotnik's brain was sent to Chaos8's old body. The Interweb purged his memory and dumped him in a random dimension. Meanwhile Robotnik had set up a clone as a contingency plan. While Chaos8 was busy taking charge of Robotropolis, Robotnick was planning his reclamation of the city.  
  
Meanwhile, we dimension jumpers were trying to regroup amidst a huge interdimensional storm. We got back together and sealed the vortices that threatened the dimensions where we'd landed. Then we met Rob.  
  
["Where's Rob been, anyway? How is he staying out of the spotlight during all these kidnapping accusations?"  
"He's taking care of my house for me. I own the land and the house outright, so he's managed to keep any and all press off my property."  
"How'd he do that? And what about Squall and the others?"  
"He put a nice huge lock on the driveway gate. The press is smart enough to not climb over the fence."  
"Why is that?"  
"Last reporter who tried it triggered my motion-detecting sprinkler system. His notepad was so soaked he lost notes from half a dozen stories he'd been working on."  
"I bet he was miffed."  
"Ready to sue me, actually. I countered that I had the right to protect my private property any way I pleased and that the only damage done had been a set of wet clothes that could easily be laundered and one notepad. I paid for a new notepad and the judge threw out the case."  
"Score one for ingenuity."  
"As for the others, they're staying cooped up in the basement until I can clear my name and reveal the true nature of the teleporter. That won't be for a while, unfortunately."]  
  
Rob was a pretty good kid. He was an excellent swordfighter, but he had amnesia. We learned later that this was actually Robotnik in Chaos8's former body. He was genuinely sorry for what he'd done, so he became one of us. When we got back to Mobius, we wound up stuck in the middle of the three-way war for control of the planet. Robotnick had just begun his assault on the city, Chaos8 was defending what he could, and the Freedom Fighters were staging guerrilla attacks on both sides.  
  
["Who won?"  
"Unfortunately, Robotnick did. He was just too powerful. We couldn't keep him from taking over the city again. So it's back to the status quo on Mobius."]  
  
Chaos8 kept coming back, unfortunately. Shortly after the first semester of college was over, the whole gang gathered at my place for Christmas. Shortly thereafter, Chaos8 sent me through a random portal into a shadow dimension. I had no inward contact with my home world. Chris tracked me to Japan, but she still couldn't get in touch with me. I guess it was a miracle that we managed to communicate through a couple of dimensional glitches, but I managed to phase back into my own reality.  
  
I don't think I'll go into what happened afterwards. It's just too painful to think about right now... All I'll say is that my powers were drained, and I was left with a normal life again. I decided to close down the transdimensional network in order to restore order to it all.  
  
I coudn't take it. I missed the adventure and the action. So I reopened the dimensional gates and started the whole cycle going again. The only problem is that I unintentionally gave GUN the plans for the Dimensionalizer. And you guys know the rest; they started kidnapping people from their own dimensions. Including the two of you.  
  
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"Good work, Roland. I'll be able to pass this onto our own agents." The general hung up and began to notify his top trackers while Agent Roland telephoned his superiors at the local FBI office...  
  
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"Wow. That's some story."  
  
"I know. I have a hard enough time believing it myself. There are times when my whole life feels like a dream that I'm about to wake up from."  
  
"I get that feeling sometimes," Aeris commented. "My life has been very strange; bordering on just plain weird most of the time..."  
  
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Most of my life I had known I was different from others. I could always hear the voices of the planet around me. My adopted mother dealt with me as best as she could, but I know there were times that she was just baffled by my behavior.  
  
I earned a meager amount selling flowers around Midgar to anyone who would buy one. But there was one flower I sold that I'll never forget. It was a bright yellow daffodil...  
  
I had just picked some flowers from a place that grew some really beautiful varieties. I was on my way home when this guy bumped into me. He seemed to be in a big hurry, but he still stopped to buy a flower. He ran off and I never imagined I'd see him again.  
  
The next day I went to an old broken-down church building. For some reason the churches seemed to be the best sources for flowers. Anyway, I was there tending to some of the flowers when something came crashing through the roof and landed at my feet.  
  
It was the same guy I'd met the day before. When he came to, we talked for a bit. That's when the Turks showed up. It's kind of frustrating trying to live a normal life and having to always be watching over your shoulder. The Turks worked for Shinra, the company that seemed to be in charge of just about everything these days. Apparently Shinra saw that I was the last of the Cetra and viewed me as some sort of experiment or something. Anyway, Cloud (that was the guy's name) agreed to act as my bodyguard. He walked me home, then tried to sneak out. I think it was my mother's suggestion, really. I caught up with him just before he got to the next sector of town and he agreed to let me tag along.  
  
Before I even had a chance to thank him he noticed a friend of his being carted off somewhere. When we followed the cart, we discovered that she'd been taken to Don Corneo's mansion, and that only women were allowed inside...  
  
[Here Aeris started giggling uncontrollably.  
"What? What did you do?" I prodded.  
"I suggested he dress up like a girl to get in."  
I fell out of my chair as everyone burst out laughing. "You didn't!" Chris laughed.  
"Yeah, but that's not as funny as what he did do..."  
"What's that?" I inquired, levering myself back into my chair.  
At this point her giggles burst into full-blown laughter. "He actually DID it!"  
We all cracked up all over again.  
"Oh, man, poor guy. I'd hate to have been in his shoes at that point," I managed between chuckles.  
"What kind of shoes, heels or flats?" Chris put in, which set us all roaring again.]  
  
Okay, all right. Anyway, we managed to rescue Tifa and get back to her home, only to find the sector's support pillar under attack. While Cloud and Tifa helped out with defending it, I got caught by the Turks. They rescued me from becoming a science experiment, and we made it out of Midgar.  
  
We had several adventures after that, but I don't really know that much about some of them. When we got to the Temple of the Ancients, we met up with Sephiroth.... The next several months are all a blur for me...  
  
["A blur? What do you mean?"]  
  
A blur of nonexistence, sort of. You see... I died that day.  
  
["D-D-Died? D-Did you say d-d-died?"]  
  
Mm-hmm. Run through by Sephiroth's sword. Or so Cloud told me. I never saw it coming. They all went on without me, doing so in my memory, I guess.  
  
It wasn't for about six, seven months that I saw any of them again. Cloud discovered a way to bring me back. I've lived a fairly normal life ever since.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
"He found a way to bring you back? How?"  
  
"I'm not really sure, myself. He never told me."  
  
"Man, my story pales in comparison to that," I commented.  
  
"Hey, my story is simpler than yours, really. I'm just a normal guy who found out he was of royal lineage on another planet."  
  
We all stared at Tenchi for a moment. "And you think that's simple?" Slasher inquired, breaking the silence.  
  
"Well, compared to inventing dimensional travel or having been dead for half a year, yeah."  
  
"Point conceded," I admitted. "That doesn't make it any less extraordinary."  
  
A voice came over the intercom. "Ryan, I think you ought to see this."  
  
Chris stared at me. "Who's that girl?"  
  
"Uh, that would be the computer system."  
  
"Computer system? Oh, come on, Ryan, you know I'm sooooo much more than that..."  
  
I could feel my face turning a deep shade of red. "Let's go see what she wants, huh?" I stammered quickly to change the subject.  
  
Two of the TV screens were showing simultaneous broadcasts of the news. One screen featured the news story of an international manhunt for a dangerous kidnapper (namely, me), while the other showed some skateboarding show on an extreme sports network. A flash of blue caught my eye. "Hey, that's--"  
  
"Sonic Hedgehog, or at least that's what he calls himself, has proven to be a tried and true boarder in the past few days. He appeared in the Frisco Bay area last week and has since taken boarding to a new extreme-- using no skateboard at all.  
  
"This amateur footage shows this blue blaze taking San Francisco by storm, grinding rails on only his sneakers! We asked him about it.  
  
"Yeah, aren't they great? I found 'em last time I was in Sapphire City. All I gotta do is hit this button here to flip out these rollers, which cut friction down to almost nil, and hit it again to flip 'em back in when I want to run."  
  
"In fact, this hedgehog's strong suit is running, but it's the amazing speed at which he's able to run that let's him treat his feet like a skateboard. More on this incredible new face in the extreme sports arena after this break."  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
I don't know what was with Chris. So I had an AI running the computer systems! It's not like I was romantically attached to a computer! Man, the ideas she comes up with...  
  
Okay, so maybe I was a bit girl crazy when I'd built the Virtual Information and Knowledge Index (VIKI for short). Okay, a LOT girl crazy. I had forgotten the computer core even contained an AI, much less a female one. Fortunately I'd limited the interactive module to voice. I think Chris would've flipped if I'd created a facial expression module to go with it.  
  
Tenchi walked into the control room where I sat brooding over my current situation. I barely acknowledged his presence, so deep in thought I was.  
  
"The girls all went to the diner for some food. You want anything?"  
  
"Not right now, thanks, I'm not that hungry."  
  
"Okay. You mind if I join you?"  
  
"Go right ahead. I could use a voice of reason right now."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"Oh, just some of the things I'm thinking. I'm running all these scenarios out in my head, but not one of them prevents any more people from suffering. It's almost as if I'm destined to be a fugitive for the rest of my natural life."  
  
"Well, that all depends, doesn't it?"  
  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, if you believe in destiny, you tend to fulfill it. If you don't, then things usually go the other way."  
  
What Tenchi said struck a chord. I was a Christian! Why was I moping around the place thinking I was destined to suffer character assassination for the rest of my life? I was created with a free will! Why wasn't I using it?  
  
"Dangit, you're right. I think it's time I made my OWN destiny."  
  
"Slasher was telling us more about Team Chaos after you left the room. Sounds like a tight group you all had."  
  
"The best. Simpler times, definitely. Makes me wish for the good ol' days."  
  
A voice interrupted from across the room. "Wish granted."  
  
I turned to see all the old team members standing in the doorway. Cliff spoke again. "And it wasn't just Slasher telling them about our little escapades, either."  
  
----------------------------------------------------------  
  
Seeing everyone back together warmed my heart to no end. It seemed that they had all heard about my alleged kidnapping and immediately gotten together to track me down to find out the truth. Once news had gotten out about my supposed kidnapping of Chris, Jason immediately knew it was a fake. They had used my dimensional equipment to track me down to this dimension.  
  
"So what are you going to do now?" Lara inquired.  
  
"I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to make a phone call."  
  
Everyone exchanged quizzical looks as I picked up the receiver and dialed.  
  
"Yeah, hey, Rob? CJ here. Listen, man, I want you to call the local FBI office and have them send out an agent to act as a courier. Yes, a courier. I have a little package I want them to get a hold of."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
"You wanted to see me, general?"  
  
"Yes, Colonel Ferris. Are you aware that the wiretap on our scapegoat's house has malfunctioned?"  
  
"I hadn't known that, general."  
  
"Well now you do. Seems the caretaker of the house got a call, but the other end of the line was completely silent. Then he called the local FBI office and requested that an agent come to the house."  
  
"Is Roland being sent?"  
  
"No, unfortunately Roland is still in San Francisco tracking down shadows. I don't doubt he saw the scapegoat, but he lost track of him."  
  
"So what should we do?"  
  
"We need to get a hold of whatever information the agent returns with..."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
"This video was created to dispel certain myths concerning the alleged kidnappings I have been accused of. First of all, I have kidnapped no one. Aeris Gainsborough came to me asking for help, and I obliged. And as for Christine Monroe, why would I kidnap my own girlfriend?  
  
"Secondly, I would like to explain to you why an international manhunt won't work. It's quite simple, really. I'm no longer on earth. That's right, I'm in another dimension entirely. Let me say here and now that I'm not the kind of person who would lie about something as serious as this. I need to explain further...  
  
"The teleporter network and equipment I created is scaled down technology. The original article is the Dimensionalizer, a transdimensional portal generator. I scaled it down and patented it as protection from people who might try to steal the technology.  
  
"Unfortunately, an oversight on my own part several months ago has compromised the secrecy of my project. I wrote a paper on dimensional theory for a college class. You'll find a copy of the paper in the package I had delivered to you. I would like you to notice the professor's name on the paper. Professor Ferris has a "day job", as it were. She happens to be secretary to the commander of a pseudo-scientific paramilitary group called GUN. I have had several encounters with these people. One, they used this paper to steal my dimensional gateway. Granted, at that exact time I hadn't patented it, but what's worse is that they are pulling innocent people out of their homeworlds and performing experiments on them. Aeris is one such victim. Two, they are the ones who are framing me for kidnapping. They are the ones whom Aeris was running from when she asked me for my help. Three, their commander just happens to be my girlfriend's estranged father. That story about my abducting his daughter while holding him at gunpoint? Total rubbish.  
  
"I realize a lot of this is going to sound like complete bull. So I make an offer. One agent, unarmed, with video and audio surveillance set up, can talk with me in this dimension. You'll be able to see that everything I've said about my dimensional portal network is true. Please, only one agent, two at most, with only one making the trip. NO ONE ELSE. You have until Saturday to decide. I'll be waiting."  
  
...Static.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"So have they accepted your terms yet?"  
  
"I have no idea. They may be taking this as a ransom note, which isn't what I intended at all. I wanted the world to see proof that I'm telling the truth."  
  
"Great, so what happens if they don't take you seriously?"  
  
"We do things the hard way. Extract a confession from the general somehow and televise it."  
  
"Riiiiight. Like that'll work," Wes cut in.  
  
"Okay, so it's not such a great plan at the moment. Big deal. We'll find a way."  
  
Our little conference was interrupted by Ayeka bursting into the room. "You've got to come quickly; Chris has just fainted!"  
  
"What?!?" I flew past the Jurai princess so fast I nearly knocked her over, but my main concern at the moment was Christine's well-being. I skidded to a stop near her collapsed body.  
  
"Chris! What happened?"  
  
"...Ryan... I think... they used some... sort of delayed-action... poison or something... when they had me..."  
  
"You're not going to die, you're not going to die..." I kept repeating.  
  
Pixel, Chris' chao, came rushing up. "Chris!" The little creature clung to her owner's arm. Indy, following close behind, stood a few feet away and watched on gravely.  
  
"Pix," I managed through a tight throat, "use your scanner and see if you can figure out what kind of poison it is..."  
  
The little chao immediately obeyed, running the scanner over Chris' body and plugging it into her portable computer. Flipping the visor down, she immediately began sorting through the data.  
  
Her little fingers suddenly froze in mid-typing. Her hand dropped from her arm-mounted keyboard, and slowly pushed up her visor. The eyes behind the VR gear were wide with apprehension. "It's Lithium Trioxide."  
  
"Oh, no." Lith-oh-three, as it was called, was a deadly poison that broke down the body's immune system and nervous system all at once. Only one substance, Barium Tetrafluoride, was capable of neutralizing the damaging poison. And the only place that had B-F-four in its natural state (synthesized BF(4) didn't have the strength of the natural stuff) that I knew of was...  
  
"Slasher!" I yelled wildly.  
  
"Slasher left a little bit ago," Indy piped in. "She went home to check on things."  
  
My brain nearly shut down at that point. My metallic left hand clutched at the object hanging around my neck and nearly tore it off in frustration...  
  
Until I realized what it was. The whistle.  
  
With trembling fingers, I raised it to my lips. I couldn't remember the proper signals in my agitated state, so I improvised. Three short, three long, three short.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Slasher's head whipped around. Tails noticed. "What is it, Slash?"  
  
"Ryan needs help... And he must need it _really_ fast; he went past five... No, wait a minute..." The green eyes widened. "SOS! This must be life or death! Hop on!" Tails quickly obeyed, and Slasher sprinted off, leaving a stiff breeze in her wake.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
"I came as soon as I could. What happened?"  
  
I turned from the bunk where we'd laid Chris. "They used some slow-acting poison on Chris while they had her. Lith-oh-three."  
  
The raptor's eyes widened. "Lithium Trioxide?!? That stuff's deadly!"  
  
"And enough to get me thrown in the clink for life for kidnapping AND murder. We need some Barium Tetraflouride."  
  
"Where am I going to find B-F-four? That stuff's really hard to find!"  
  
"Knuckles. He has some. Don't ask me how I know, just go get it! I don't know how much longer she'll last!"  
  
Slasher dashed off, leaving Tails behind to help watch over Chris. Her eyes fluttered open. "Ryan..." she whispered.  
  
"Just take it easy, Chris. Slasher's getting the antidote right now."  
  
"I... need to tell... you... something..."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I'd always... hoped we could... spend the... rest of our lives... together..."  
  
"Don't talk like that, Chris... I can't imagine life without you. You'll be fine."  
  
"Maybe this was meant... to happen..."  
  
"No, no, Chris. This isn't going to happen; you're not going to die!"  
  
"Everyone's time... comes someday..."  
  
"Chris, this isn't you. What happened to the fighter I knew? You've got to fight the poison a little longer, Chris..."  
  
"It's too late... I'm done for, Ryan..."  
  
"No, there has to be a way, there has to be!" By this point in the conversation I was becoming hysterical. A headset dropped from the ceiling. "What the heck is this?"  
  
VIKI replied, "It's a memory transference headset. Put it on her."  
  
"What are you going to do?" I asked the computer as I put the headset on Chris. She had dropped into unconsciousness again.  
  
"Quite simple, really. I'm going to transfer her consciousness into the computer core."  
  
"You're what?!?"  
  
"I'm downloading Chris into my AI nexus. She'll be fine, even if her body dies."  
  
"Then how do you propose I get her back? I don't want to have a computer for a girlfriend, no offense intended."  
  
"None taken. I have to be honest, the reason you haven't heard from me all this time is because I had scanned Chris when she first showed up and seen the poison. I couldn't warn you because I was still set to passive mode, at least until Pixel was messing around with the control panels one day. I told her what I knew, and the two of us set about creating the necessary equipment."  
  
"Necessary equipment?"  
  
"I copied Chris' DNA from Pixel's scanner data and began constructing a new body from that data. All that's left is for me to transfer her consciousness into the new body."  
  
"And if Slasher gets back with the antidote?"  
  
The heart monitor suddenly flatlined. "Good timing," VIKI commented. "I just finished the transfer."  
  
"So what are you saying, my girlfriend is going to be an android now?"  
  
"Did you ever see 'The Fifth Element'?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"That's what I did."  
  
"You're joking."  
  
"I never joke about a serious matter. This is a different dimension from your own, after all. Pixel and I were able to build the machine with no problems. There's just one catch..."  
  
"Catch what catch you never said anything about a catch what kind of catch are you talking about?" I blurted out hysterically. This was starting to REALLY mess with my head. Just then Slasher got back with the antidote. She saw the heart monitor and feared the worst.  
  
"Is she..." the raptor inquired fearfully.  
  
"I'm fine! Why is everyone so worried about me?" "Ah, good, you're awake."  
  
Hearing Chris' voice coming from the speakers just like VIKI's served to both freak me out and provide a great sense of relief all at once.  
  
"Yeah, I'm awake, but where the heck am I?" "You're in the computer's AI nexus. I pulled you here to save you. Take a look." "Save me, what do you mean--" Chris cut off as she focused her attention on her dead body laying on the bunk. "Um, someone care to tell me what happened?"  
  
"You're dead," I replied lamely.  
  
"I can see that. The poison did me in?"  
  
"It would seem so. So, VIKI, you just about to mention a catch."  
  
"Well, if anything is pulled out of the AI nexus, whether a copy or a direct move, the entire thing has to go. That means if I put Chris in the new body, I have to go too."  
  
"So I get a girlfriend with a split personality, is that it?"  
  
Actually since it's Chris' body, small portions of me would merge with her, and the rest would remain dormant until needed. There is one plus, though..."  
  
"And what is that?"  
  
"Your girlfriend will be a walking encyclopedia."  
  
"Sold."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"You gotta admit, Chris, it's a pretty big plus."  
  
"Oh, fine."  
  
"Hey, would you rather be stuck on a hard drive for the rest of your life?"  
  
"Good point. Lead the way, VIKI..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
The door slid open in a grandiose manner, revealing an enclosed bed, the plexiglass dome revealing Chris' body, covered up to her collarbone in a sheet. A headset like the one that had copied her consciousness rested on the head. A change of clothes hung on a hanger near a changing room. Apart from these features and a control panel, the glaringly white room was empty. Pixel stood off to the side, pleased that everything had gone well so far.  
  
"Couldn't you have put the clothes on me first?" Chris inquired. "Right, how exactly was I supposed to do that? You have any idea how heavy the human body is as dead weight? You're a big girl, you can take care of yourself." "Fine, but NO AUDIENCE!"  
  
Everyone agreed with that, so I stepped up to the control panel. "I have everything set up on this end, Ryan. Just hit the green button and the process will take care of itself."  
  
I looked to the crowd of people that had followed me in. "I appreciate all your support, guys, but do you mind if I take care of this by myself?"  
  
"Not at all, Ryan," Slasher replied.  
  
"We'll be outside if you need us," Ayeka added.  
  
"Make her feel welcome, Ryan," Wes smirked before he was herded out the door. The door shut, sealing in the silence.  
  
I turned to the body laying there. Incredible. To think VIKI and little Pixel had managed this on their own without any of us knowing about it. I turned to the chao. "You want to push the button?"  
  
"I thought you'd want to do it."  
  
"I don't mind. I want to be right here next to her when she wakes up."  
  
"All right." She scurried over to the control panel and hoisted herself onto it to reach the controls. "Memory transference commencing... NOW!" Pixel pushed the button.  
  
Almost immediately, Chris' eyes began fluttering behind her closed eyelids. I worried that the flood of memories pouring into her brain might be too much, but she didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects. Sooner that I thought possible, Pixel declared, "Transfer complete. She should wake up any time now."  
  
Once all her memories had sorted out in her mind, Chris opened her eyes. Her eyes focused on me, and she smiled. I bent down and our lips met...  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
I stumbled out of the room, the door shutting behind me. Everyone looked at me expectantly.  
  
"She wanted to get dressed," I explained.  
  
Everyone broke out laughing. I had Chris back. Life was good.  
  
The phone rang, and I picked it up. "Yeah, CJ here."  
  
"It's Rob."  
  
"Oh, hey, Rob. Whazzup?"  
  
"The FBI has agreed to your terms, and they're sending out an agent tomorrow. Also Mr. General is back on TV tearing apart your character again."  
  
"What, is he accusing me of murdering his daughter in cold blood?"  
  
"Yeah, something like that. How'd you know?"  
  
"Just a wild guess." The door opened, and Chris came waltzing out into the anteroom. She was immediately flooded by everyone. "Listen, Rob, I gotta go, but make sure you set everything up for the visit tomorrow."  
  
"Wilco."  
  
"Catch you on the flipside."  
  
"Only if it's a good song."  
  
I hung up, ran to Chris, grabbed her around the waist and swept her off the ground, spinning her around.  
  
Life was good.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Deep in the ground, a safe lay buried. The contents of the safe glowed, throbbing brightly with an internal rage at being confined so. A small portal opened in the middle of the floor of the safe, allowing the eighth Chaos Emerald to fall through into a receptacle on the other side of the dimensional rip.  
  
A gloved hand reached for the gem... and a dark hedgehog with a dark purpose gained control of the darkest power known to the universe...  
  
  
  
Coming Soon: Sonic Adventure 2 -- Dark vs. Light 


	4. Letters: An Interlude

Letters-- An Interlude  
by Ryan Carroll  
  
Author's Notes: This is more of a recap and summation than anything. A few small plot points will be revealed, but nothing earth-shattering. I've gotten several emails in the past few months from people praising my work. I just want to say thanks to all of you; it's great to know that people are actually reading my stuff. As for what's coming up in the future of the ChaosJedi storyline, there may be a few hints in this mini-chapter. Just pay close attention, and you may catch a few.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Dimension Foxtrot-Foxtrot-Seven, Unnamed Planet,   
Western Continent, Costa Del Sol, Cloud's Villa  
  
Dear Cloud,  
  
I realize you're probably worried about me. Don't be. I'm safe, at least for now, anyway. You might be wondering exactly where I am. Well, I'm in another dimension. The people who kidnapped me brought me here. I escaped from them, and now I'm living with a group of fugitives. I guess that sounds a bit dire, doesn't it? Well, what happened is that I ran across the guy who invented this dimensional gateway machine. My kidnappers stole the design from him, and in order to keep him out of their way, they framed him for kidnapping me. We're living in a pretty nice complex in a remote dimension, as it's dangerous for any of us to hang around Ryan's home dimension too long. Oh yeah, Ryan's the guy who's been framed. He's a really nice guy, and he kinda reminds me of you sometimes. His girlfriend Chris is nice too. The news is claiming she's been kidnapped too. Can you believe it?  
  
I've been doing some serious thinking, and I think that once all this is over, I'll stay here. For one thing, there's never a bunch of monsters roaming around, and for another, I feel like I have a family here. Ryan, Chris, Slasher... I might invite you here to meet them all once Ryan can clear his name and everything.  
  
So how's things at home? I imagine everyone's been worried about me, too. Well, I'm in good hands, so no one has to lose any sleep over me. Well, take care of yourself and Tifa, try to keep Barret and Cid from fighting too much, and keep Yuffie out of trouble. That shouldn't be too hard for a world-renowned hero, right? I'll be back soon.  
  
Sincerely,  
Aeris  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Dimension Foxtrot-Foxtrot-Eight,   
Central Continent, Balamb Garden  
  
Dear Rinoa,  
  
I realize it's been too long since we've seen each other, but it really can't be helped. Ever since those military types dragged me through that portal, I've been fighting alongside a great warrior. His name is Ryan. He's battling the military group that kidnapped me. It seems that they've framed him for kidnapping these two girls named Aeris and Chris. I literally ran into Ryan as I was escaping my captors, and we've been working together ever since.  
  
Some of the others that we're fighting alongside would seem a bit... unusual at first. I have to admit, I've never seen a winged velociraptor before. And this Aeris girl can heal without using any magic! It's like she has an innate ability for it or something.  
  
I promise I'll get back to you as soon as possible, but until then, I know that you'll be waiting. That's enough for now.  
  
Yours forever,  
Squall  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Parallel Dimension Tango-Mike,  
Japan, Masaki residence  
  
Ryoko,  
  
Everything's fine here. We're in a bit of a lull right now, so I thought I'd take the time to write you and tell you how things are going.  
  
I can't explain why, but these little Chao are really growing on me. Indy and Pixel are constantly amazing us all with their ability to learn. Just yesterday I saw Indy practicing some moves. The little sneak must have been spying on me, because he copied some of my routine move for move! And he was good at it!  
  
I'm still not sure what GUN wanted from me, but I have a feeling I'll find out soon. I bet Sasami's in the kitchen and Washu's in her lab, as usual. Well, take care of yourself.  
  
Tenchi  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Dimension of Earth, North America, United States,  
State of Arizona, city of Tempe, Carroll Residence  
  
Journal of Robert Nichols, Entry One  
  
I've decided to keep this journal as a record of my new life. I want it to be a reminder to myself of what I was and what I am now.  
  
The media has eaten up the kidnapping story. Seems like every day some new "evidence" or other comes up, incriminating Ryan even more. I used to watch the news for the technology reports, but I can't handle the slander and libel anymore. The TV stays off.  
  
Sometimes I wonder how Ryan can wake up to a new day with any semblance of a good mood. I guess it's because he knows he's innocent of the crimes he's been accused of. I wish I could be that way.  
  
The crowd in the basement hasn't done much since they got here. They eat, sleep, play the Dreamcast to death... And I get to feed them. Joy.  
  
I realize it might be strange for me to have put a full name for myself, but a little hacking can do wonders at times. I now have a full name, a history, an SSN... Yeah, it may be a bit of a pun on who I used to be, but it just seemed to fit. Sometimes I wonder what happened to the guy who used to have this body.  
  
...I found a Chao egg yesterday. It's kinda weird having that egg sitting in the window, waiting for it to hatch. I wonder if it's a boy or a girl.  
  
*signs off*  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Turnpike Dimension, Carroll Central Compound  
  
From the Diary of Christine Monroe...  
  
I'm seeing ghostly images.  
  
It's weird, one minute I'll be with Ryan, strolling incognito down Broadway, the next I'll feel like I'm in a mist between two worlds. I see Mobians going about their daily business, oblivious to the fact that their world is being accidentally invaded. Then the mist will clear, and I'll be back where I was two seconds before.  
  
It scares me. I'm afraid the world will never be the same because of it.  
  
*end transmissions* 


End file.
